Coronavirus fears hit Egypt’s stock exchange hard at midday

Egypt’s stock exchange (EGX) tanked at midday, after being suspended for half an hour, spooked by the broadening fallout of the coronavirus.

Main index, EGX 30 sank 8.4 percent to 9,296 points, after registering on Sunday its biggest intra-day fall since November 2012. The broad ranged EGX 100 index also dived 5.5 percent to 1,029 points.

Coronavirus fears have erased 40 billion Egyptian pounds ($2.5 billion) from the Egyptian stock exchange’s market capitalisation on Sunday.

Egypt said on Saturday it would shut schools and universities starting Sunday for two weeks to contain the spread of the virus as the number of cases exceeded 110, reporting two deaths so far.